The Dilemma
by Jeanniefan78
Summary: Sequel to "A Valentine Surprise". Kate deals with extreme emotional distress in the aftermath of Gibbs's Hiatus accident.
1. Chapter 1

**The Dilemma**

**Written by: Jeanniefan78/April**

**Author's Note:** _This is my 7__th__ NCIS fanfic; sequel to "A Valentine Surprise". My stories are slightly AU because Kate is still alive._

_This story, "The Dilemma", is based around the events of the 2-part season 3 finale, "Hiatus" and how Kate copes with the trauma of the situation. There are a few flashbacks in this story, some of which include actual dialogue and scenes from actual season 1 and 2 episodes (I think three season 1 episodes and one season 2 episode)-I take no credit whatsoever for that writing. I hope you will all enjoy this story as well as my others._ :D

It is a late, spring evening in May, and after a long, hard day, Kate has fallen asleep on the living room couch, while watching TV.

As her phone begins to ring, she starts to shift on the couch as she slowly awakens. Then finally, she jerks awake and reaches for the phone on the coffee table. She looks at the caller ID and sees Tony's name.

"Hello?" she says, groggily. "No, wait, Tony… Say that again. I didn't understand you… What?"

She sits up quickly. "Oh my… Okay… Yeah, I'm leaving right now… Thanks."

She quickly puts her shoes on, grabs her jacket, purse, and phone, and then darts out the front door.


	2. Chapter 2

The head nurse looks up from her desk to see a frantic Kate coming in the door.

"May I help you?"

"I'm looking for Jethro Gibbs."

"Another one?"

Kate was a bit surprised. "What?! What do you mean another one?!" she asks rather sharply.

"There are two ladies in there with him already."

"I don't care who else is in there! I need to get in there! He's my husband!"

"My apologies, Ma'am."

Kate calms down a bit, "No, it's okay. I just…"

The nurse pats Kate's hand and then, presses the red button to open the doors. "Go on in."

"Thank you." She briskly walks in and sees Jenny and Abby standing outside the trauma area where Gibbs is.

Abby catches sight of her and quickly, goes to her.

"Kate!" They hug tightly.

"What happened?" she asks, tearfully, as the hug breaks.

"We don't know all the details yet," Jenny says, walking up to them. "But, there was an explosion on the ship where they were."

"Excuse me," the doctor says, coming out of the trauma area, "I don't mean to interrupt."

"Doctor, this is," Jenny says, gesturing toward Kate. "Special Agent Gibbs's wife, Caitlin Gibbs."

"Ma'am," the doctor acknowledges, as his eyes move from Jenny to Kate.

"How is he?" Kate asks with extreme concern.

"He's stable for now. We'll know more after we get a CAT scan. We're fixing to take him for it."

"May I see him?"

"Well…" the doctor hesitates.

"Please, just for a moment. I need to see him breathing."

The doctor relents. "Okay, sure." He escorts her in.

Kate gasps at the sight before her, "Oh my gosh!"

She stands there for a moment longer, in silence, as she takes in the horrific sight before her.

"Ma'am, we really need to take him for his CAT scan now."

"Okay." Kate turns around and leaves the room.

As she emerges from the room, she breaks down and Jenny embraces her. "Its gonna be okay," she says, trying to be comforting.


	3. Chapter 3

As Kate sits beside Gibbs's bedside and looks on at him, she feels a gentle touch on her shoulder that brings her out of the dazed state she's in.

"Kate?"

"Oh… I'm sorry, Director. I didn't hear you come in."

"That's okay." She shows Kate a Styrofoam box.

"I brought you something to eat from the cafeteria. I know food is the last thing on your mind right now, but you need to eat. You're eating for two now."

Kate smiles, slightly.

"Thanks." She sets the box on the nightstand next to Gibbs's bed. "I'll eat in a little bit."

Jenny pulls a chair up next to Kate and sits down, "Kate, I need to ask you something. Has Jethro ever told you anything about the coma he was in in '91?"

"Not much. Why?"

"Well, remember earlier when the doctor said he looked like he did in '91, and that it is more anguish than pain? Can you think of any reason why that could be? Maybe something he told you about?"

"I uh… I'm…," Kate hesitates.

**KATE FLASHES BACK**

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Kate asks Gibbs as she hands him a cup of coffee and then, sits down next to him on her living room couch.

"Well…" He takes a sip and then, sets it down on Kate's coffee table. "There's something that neither you nor anyone else knows about me, except Ziva, and she only knows because she found out when she profiled me for Ari. I'm telling you now because I feel you deserve to know."

"What is it?"

"I haven't been married only 3 times."

"Really…"

"I've been married 4 times…" He ducks his head and then, raises it back up. "My first ex-wife wasn't my first wife."

Kate's eyebrows raise slightly. "Really?"

"Yeah…" he hesitates.

"While I was fighting in Desert Storm, my first wife, Shannon, witnessed the murder of a Marine in Oceanside by Mexican drug dealer, Pedro Hernandez. So, she and our 8 year old daughter, Kelly, were put in protective custody. But, Hernandez found them and shot the NIS agent assigned to protect them, while he was driving them somewhere. The agent died immediately and Shannon and Kelly were killed in the crash."

Kate's eyes get bigger and she gasps. "Oh my gosh!"

"Yeah. I pretty much went off the deep end…"

**FLASHBACK ENDS**

"Kate?" Jenny pats her on the shoulder.

Kate jumps slightly, "Oh… Sorry, Director. I spaced out a little…I, uh…He did tell me about something that happened a long time ago, but I can't say what it is."

"It's okay, Kate. Don't worry about it."

Kate turns her head, looks at Gibbs, stands up, walks over to his bedside, and gently takes hold of his hand.

"You know," she says, tearfully, "I never really knew what it was like to be in love, until I met him. I had dated other guys before him, and even though I was attracted to them, I can honestly say I never fell in love…"

She pauses as her voice starts breaking, "…and then, he comes along and sweeps me off my feet."

Jenny smiles, lovingly, as she listens.

"And if anyone would have told me the day we met that we'd end up where we are now, I'd have laughed them off that plane."

Jenny chuckles and Kate chuckles, slightly, through her tears.

"And I couldn't even tell you exactly when or how it happened. I just know that I fell fast and hard."

Her voice breaks even more as more tears begin to flow, "And I… Oh my gosh!…" She breaks down, crying harder. Jenny stands up, takes Kate by the shoulders, spins her around, and embraces her.

"It's okay, sweetie. Just let it all out," she says, rubbing her back, consolingly.

"Oh, Director… How am I ever gonna live without him?!" she sobs.

"Hey, now. Don't start talking like that. You're not gonna have to live without him. He's gonna be fine. Just keep praying and believing."

Kate's crying calms down, "I will."

Jenny breaks the hug. "Look at me," she says with her hands on Kate's shoulders. "He's gonna be fine… He's gonna be fine."

Kate nods her head.

Jenny hugs her again and pats her back.

"Thank you," Kate says, breaking the hug.

"You're welcome." She pauses for a moment. She can see how tired Kate is.

"Kate, you're exhausted. Why don't you consider going home for a while and getting some rest?"

"I can't… I can't leave him."

"Well, at least eat you some lunch and then, lay down on the cot and get some rest."

"I will."

"I'm gonna go down the hall and make a call and then, I'll be right back."

"Okay."

Jenny goes down the hall, takes her cell phone out of her pocket, turns it on, and dials a number.

"Abby, it's me."

"Is Gibbs okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine. He's holding his own. But Kate, she's not doing so well. She's exhausted and even though she's been resting some up here, it's not near enough. The doctor and I, both, have tried to talk her in to going home for a while to rest, but she refuses."

"Do you want me to try to talk her?"

"No, Abby, I highly doubt she's gonna listen to any of us."

"Yeah, you're probably right… Wait, I have an idea. I'll call you back in a little while."

"Okay. Thanks, Abby."


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, as Kate sits dozed off in a recliner-like chair, she begins to feel like someone is shaking her awake.

"Kate? Kate?"

Kate rouses a little, but she can't see clearly right away.

"Hey," the voice says.

Kate blinks her eyes a few times. "Jeff?"

"Yeah, Sis. It's me," he bends down to hug her.

She gladly reciprocates, "Oh my gosh! What are you doing here?" She breaks the hug and sits herself and the chair straight up.

"I was concerned about you…. Your friends called me."

Kate gets a miffed look on her face, "Jeff, they shouldn't…"

"Sis," he interrupts, "Listen to me. They're concerned about you."

"They shouldn't be. I'm fine."

"You are not fine. You're exhausted. And who wouldn't be after being put through the ringer like you have. And remember, it's not just you that you have to think about now. You have a baby growing on the inside of you that is counting on you to take care of yourself. And you're not gonna be much use to the baby or to Jethro if you don't get some rest."

She softens, "I know… But, I've been resting up here."

"Not nearly enough."

"Jeff, I'm not leaving him." She looks over at Gibbs and starts tearing up. "I just can't!"

"Sis, he's not gonna be alone. Just put him in God's hands and know he will be taken care of. And besides, the doctor has already promised he would call the minute anything changes… Look, Sis. I can't say I'd feel any different than you if it were Lauren over there in that bed, but I know she'd want me to take care of myself. The best thing you can do right now, for yourself and for Jethro, is to go home and get some rest."

Kate relents. "Okay… Okay."

Jeff stands up. "Come here," he says, holding his arms out to her.

Kate stands up and hugs her brother.

"Hey," he says, breaking the hug. "Why don't we have a word of prayer before we go?"

Kate nods. "That would be great."

Kate takes Gibbs's hand as Jeff makes his way to the other side of Gibbs's bed.

"Lord," he begins. "We come to you with grateful hearts for all of your blessings. We thank you for Jethro and for what he means to all of us. And we ask you, dear Lord, watch over him and bring healing to his body, soul, and spirit. And we ask that you help us to take comfort in knowing that he is in your hands. In your most precious name we pray, Amen."

"Amen," Kate says, and then, raises her head and looks at Jeff. "I just need a few minutes with him before we go."

"Sure. I'll wait out in the hall for you."

"Okay." Kate looks back at Gibbs and gently strokes his head with her left hand.

**KATE FLASHES BACK** (_from NCIS episode 1.01 Yankee White_)

"Who the h- are you people?" To Gibbs, "You're no M.E. assistant." To Ducky, "And there's not a soft shell crab within a thousand miles."

"Sorry," Ducky says.

Gibbs shows Kate his badge. "NCIS. We flew down here from Washington to take over the investigation."

"First, the FBI tries to muscle in, and now NCIS."

"Yeah, well I do believe this is a dead naval officer."

"Who died on Air Force One, after having lunch with the President, it's my job to protect."

"Okay, we can share jurisdiction. You can be on my team."

"Your team? Why should you head the investigation?"

"You ever worked a crime scene, Agent Todd?"

"I am a Secret Service Agent."

Gibbs smirks. "I thought not."

"Well don't dismiss me like that! Okay, I earned my jock strap."

"Yeah? Does it ever give you that empty feeling?"

"What?"

"Your jock strap?"

"No. Like some species of frogs, I grow what I need." Kate smiles sarcastically.

Gibbs smirks back and stares at her for a moment.

Tony comes down the stairs. "Gibbs, the Pilot won't take off until the Secret Service chick gives us the…"

He stops for a moment. "…thumbs up."

Kate smirks at Gibbs. "I think that just made it my team."

"No. I think it means I just have to hijack Air Force One." Still looking at Kate, "Tony, escort Agent Todd off this aircraft and close the hatch."

Kate can't believe it! "You're not serious! Wait!" She takes off after Gibbs as he walks away.

"Wait! Okay, okay! Your team. But only because I don't want to delay us further by having to shoot you." Kate extends her hand to Gibbs and they shake on it.

**FLASHBACK ENDS**

Kate lovingly smiles as she continues to lightly stroke Gibbs's head. "Little did I know that I was in for the ride of my life that day." She bends down and kisses him on the cheek.

She raises up, slightly. "Jethro, please don't leave us." She tears up. "The baby and I need you." She kisses his cheek again. "I love you."

She kisses him one last time before exiting the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Back at home, Kate tries her best to relax in a nice hot shower. As she stands under the water, with her head tilted slightly back, as she rinses her hair, she begins to reminisce.

**KATE FLASHES BACK** (_from NCIS episode 1.01 Yankee White_)

"I can't give him Air Force One floor plans; they're top secret."

"Come on. I saw this in a Harrison Ford movie."

"Well, that's Hollywood speculation. You're asking for the real thing."

"Isn't the President's head down here someplace?"

"No."

"No, this was in the movie!" Gibbs looks at his surroundings. "Yeah! Harrison was sitting right here!," he says, gesturing at the chair at the head of the table.

"I can't risk those plans getting out on the internet."

"NCIS does not leak. These plans get out, you can shoot DiNozzo."

"No, I think I'm destined to shoot you," Kate replied sarcastically.

**FLASHBACK ENDS**

As the water continues running over her, she straightens her head upright, wipes the water off of her face with both hands and then, stands still for a moment.

**KATE FLASHES BACK** (_from NCIS episode 1.02 Hung Out to Dry_)

Gibbs is talking. "There's gotta be other chutes that Corporal Ramsey packed in the paraloft inventory for comparison."

"Mmm-Mmm, negatory. I checked," Abby says. "They were all packed since he's been suspended."

"Well, there's an Armed Forces DNA registry," Kate pipes in. "All military personnel are on record, right?"

"Yeah," Gibbs says.

Kate's very pleased. "Then we got our guy."

"No." Gibbs sighs.

"All we got is a pile of dead scene. The only thing you can use the DNA registry for is to identify a body."

"Well, there has to be a way around that," Kate says.

Gibbs is pleased. "See, now you're thinking like an NCIS agent."

Kate smiles at him, very pleased and almost, flirtatiously.

**FLASHBACK ENDS**

Kate grins, slightly, and then, turns off the shower. She sweeps the shower curtain aside and grabs her towel. As she towel dries her hair, she reminisces again.

**KATE FLASHES BACK** (_from NCIS episode 1.07 Sub Rosa_)

As Kate finishes drinking a bottle of water, Gibbs takes a lid off of another and sets it down on the table in front of her.

"Drink."

"What's with all the water?"

"Oh, you got to hydrate on a submarine."

"All you've had me doing is hydrating."

"Drink it." He pauses, walks across the room, turns around, and faces Kate. "So, how's your bladder?"

"What?!" Kate asks, surprised.

"The COB's at the end of the passageway, trying to keep an eye on us. You got to distract him. You're gonna need help working the toilet."

"Gibbs…"

"Trust me, Kate. On a submarine, it's a very complicated mechanism."

"Is that why you've been shoving water down my throat for the past hour?"

"I want to check out Petty Officer Thompson."

"Well you don't have to drown me. You could just ask," she says, getting up from her chair.

"Come on," he says and then, escorts her to the door. "Hydrating's good for you. Go on. Un-hydrate."

Kate gives him a puzzled look as she steps outside the door. "Never heard it called that before."

"Go on!" he says quietly, but forcefully.

**FLASHBACK ENDS**

**ANOTHER FLASHBACK BEGINS** (_from NCIS episode 2.16 Pop Life_)

"I'm tracking her GPS signal, Gibbs. Samantha's back at the club."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs calls out, but then, finds Tony sleeping in the backseat.

"I'll wake him up." Kate starts to turn around.

"No, no," Gibbs says, discreetly. "I got a better idea. Hold on."

Gibbs slams down on the gas pedal of the car and then suddenly, slams on the brakes.

Tony jerks forward, awake.

Kate giggles. "Bad dream, Tony?"

"I thought… I thought…"

"Call Abby. See if she got any prints off the body."

"Sure, Boss."

Kate looks over at Gibbs, who is smirking, and giggles.

**FLASHBACK ENDS**

Kate grins to herself as she turns the sink water off after having brushed her teeth.

"You can be sneaky at times, Jethro," she says, out loud to herself.

She turns out the bathroom light, goes into her and Gibbs's bedroom, and climbs into bed. As she gets comfortable, she holds her left hand out in front of her, gazes at her engagement and wedding rings, and reminisces.

**KATE FLASHES BACK** (_partially taken from my fanfic story, "May I Have This Dance?", with some extra added_)

Gibbs and Kate are finishing up her birthday dinner at his house.

"This was great, Jethro. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I want to ask you something. Do you remember what you said to me the night you hired me?"

Gibbs is quiet for a moment as he thinks.

"Oh…" He smiles. "Yeah."

"You said and I quote 'Pull that crap at NCIS, I won't give you a chance to resign,'" she says, smiling.

"Well I didn't, did I? I just transferred you."

They both chuckled.

"You know," he says, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Hiring you is one of the smartest things I have ever done."

Kate blushes and smiles. "Aww, Jethro…"

"I'm serious."

He stands up and extends his left hand to her. "Come here."

She extends her right hand to him as he helps her up.

"What?" she asks, sort of puzzled.

He pulls her a short distance in to the living room, cups her face in his hands, and kisses her. After the kiss breaks, he puts his hands on her shoulders.

"I love you, Caitlin Todd. I always have."

Kate's eyes begin to fill up with tears as she takes in what Gibbs just said to her. "I love you, too."

"Close your eyes. I have something for you."

As Kate closes her eyes, she smiles, but she can't imagine what else Gibbs could possibly have up his sleeve.

"Okay, open your eyes."

Upon opening her eyes, she gasps and is overcome by the sight before her. Gibbs was down on one knee with an open ring box in his hand and the most gorgeous diamond ring was staring back at her.

She puts her right hand over her mouth.

"Oh, my gosh," she says as tears slowly trickle down her cheeks. She drops her hand from her mouth.

"Caitlin Todd, will you marry me?"

With tears still trickling down her cheeks, she smiles, sweetly, and nods her head. "Yes." She wipes a tear from her left eye.

"Yes?"

"Yes," she says, smiling bigger as she wipes another tear from her left eye and then, her right eye.

Gibbs stands up and he and Kate hug tightly as Kate continues to cry. After a brief moment, they pull back slightly and share a sweet kiss. Upon breaking the kiss, they hug a few seconds more and then, let go.

Gibbs, then, proceeds to take the ring out of the box and as he slips the ring on her finger, she looks at it in awe. She looks up at him and then, back at her ring.

"It's so beautiful," she says, still crying.

He smiles. "I'm glad you like it."

Gibbs continues to smile at her as he takes her hands in his. "You know, I know that we haven't been together that long and to some people, this may seem a bit soon. But the more I've thought about it and the more time we've spent together over the last several weeks, the more I've realized that I don't want to spend another day, or even another moment, apart from you. I want to wake up every morning with you lying next to me. And, my feeling is 'Why wait?' when you know in your heart you've found the one you want to spend the rest of your life with."

Kate smiles as tears, once again, fill her eyes. "I feel the same way. You know, I've only been waiting for you to propose since the day we got together."

They both chuckle and Kate wipes a trickling tear off of her right cheek. "So, how long are you gonna make me wait to get married? I don't think I can wait too long."

Gibbs smiles at her. "We can have as short or long of an engagement as you want."

"Short," she says with a smile.

"Done."

"I love you, Jethro, more than you can possibly imagine."

He pulls her into a hug. "And, I love you."

As the hug breaks, Gibbs picks up a remote control off of the coffee table, points it toward a stereo, and turns it on.

After a couple of seconds, "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge begins to play.

"May I have this dance?" Gibbs asks, extending his left hand to her.

She smiles. "You may," she says as she takes his hand and they begin to dance.

As they dance, Kate begins to cry, once again. She is overwhelmed and overcome by all the love she had been shown and was still being shown. She had really and truly found her soulmate and she felt so blessed.

As the music ends, Kate wraps her arms around Gibbs's neck. "I don't believe this. Am I dreaming?"

Gibbs chuckles. "No, Sweetheart, you're not." He kisses the side of her head and then, breaks the hug.

**FLASHBACK ENDS**

With tears in her eyes, Kate folds her hands and looks upward. "He's in your hands, Lord. I trust you." She, then, rolls over on her right side and drifts off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

"Director! What happened?!" Kate asks as she walks up to Jenny, who is standing just inside the doorway of Gibbs's room, and observes the commotion with Dr. Gelfand and the nurses trying to calm Gibbs down.

Jenny steps out in the hallway with Kate. "I'm sorry, Kate. It's all my fault. I was trying to help him remember. I showed him Pin-Pin Pula's picture and I think he partially recognized him, but he couldn't think of his name. So, I told him what it was and he said it wasn't his name, that it couldn't be his name. Then, I asked him if he was sure and that's when he started to go crazy with frustration. And he just got really upset… I really am sorry, Kate."

Kate sets an overnight bag she was carrying down on the floor and hugs Jenny

"It's okay; don't worry about it. I know you were just trying to help."

Jenny breaks the hug. "Thanks." She pauses. "And before this happened, I tried to jog his memory by using "our" history together, and I think he remembered us… you know… and that was out of line and disrespectful to you and I'm sorry…"

"Director, like I've told you before, I am not threatened by you or the history yall had together because I know it's in the past."

"Thank you. I appreciate that." She pauses briefly.

"He did get a chuckle when he asked me if he had married again. I said four times and he laughed and said, 'No way.'

Then I said yeah and told him he's married to the 4th one right now. I said you weren't here because we had sent you home to get some rest. He asked me if I was an ex-wife and I said, 'Gosh no.'"

Jenny and Kate chuckle.

"Ever since I finally woke up earlier today and Jeff told me about Jethro coming out of the coma, but having this memory loss, I've wondered what I should say to him not remembering me and…"

"Kate, listen. Dr. Gelfand said who an amnesiac remembers depends on their prior relationship. That may be a reason he at least partially remembered me; so, at least in a way, I believe he will know you."

"You really think so?"

"I really do."

"Thank you for trying to help him remember."

"You're welcome." She pauses briefly. "Are you feeling better since you got some rest?"

"Yeah, I am. I slept over 15 hours."

"That's good. You needed it."

Dr. Gelfand comes out in the hallway.

"How is he, Doctor?" Kate asks.

"We've got him sedated and he will probably be out for the rest of the night. But, he's doing okay."

"Thank you, Doctor," Kate says.

"No problem." He walks away.

"I'm gonna head out," Jenny says to Kate. "Call me if you need anything."

"I will. Thank you for everything."

"You bet." She takes her leave.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, as Kate wakes up, she looks over in Gibbs's direction and finds him to still be sound asleep. As she lays there, staring at him, she grins. She's so relieved and grateful to God that he's alive.

After a brief moment longer, she gets up off the cot and goes to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she emerges from the bathroom and finds Gibbs stirring and starting to wake up.

Within seconds, Gibbs's eyes flutter open and he looks over at Kate, who is sitting on the cot.

"Good morning," she says, lovingly, but yet, slightly nervous.

"Hi." He stares at her for a brief moment. "You must be my wife."

"Yeah. I'm Kate," she says, getting up, walking over to him, and sitting on the side of his bed.

"You're beautiful," he says with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh, get out of here. I just woke up and I'm in my pajamas."

"You're still beautiful."

Kate lovingly smiles and ducks her head. "Thanks." She looks back up at him.

"There's something about you…" He reaches up and caresses her right cheek with his left hand. "You're… You're…"

Kate takes his left hand with her hands, and kisses it. "It's okay… you'll get it eventually." Her eyes start tearing up.

"Come here," Gibbs says, holding his arms out to her.

Kate leans down from her sitting position, lays her head on Gibbs's chest, and reciprocates his hug.

"It's gonna be okay," he says, stroking her head and trying to comfort and reassure her.

"I know… I just… I'm just glad you're alive. After I got back here last night, I just sat and stared at you for the longest time and as I watched you, I said, "Thank you, God, for answering prayer."

Gibbs slightly tightens his embrace and then, kisses the top of her head. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Me, too… I love you so much."

He kisses the top of her head again. "I love you, too."

She sits up and wipes the tears off of her face. "I, uh…," she says getting up and stooping down to an overnight bag on the floor. She opens it up and takes out a picture album.

"I brought this back with me. I, uh… I thought maybe it might help jog your memory. Now, if you'd rather wait until later to look at it, I'll understand."

"What is it?"

"It's our wedding album," she says, handing it to him and sitting back down on the side of his bed.

"No, it's okay. I'd like to look at it now."

He opens up the album and the first picture he sees is one of him and Kate facing each other and gazing lovingly at each other. The picture under it is a close-up of him and Kate kissing.

Gibbs nods his head as he has miniature flashbacks. "Yeah… Yeah, I can see it…" He turns a few more pages. "I just can't… piece it all together. I…"

"Here," Kate says, gently taking hold of the album. "Let's put this away for now." She gets up, puts the album away and then, sits back down on the side of Gibbs's bed.

Gibbs looks away as if he's trying not to cry.

"How long have we been married?" he asks, looking back at her.

"Almost 6 months. We got married December 3rd of last year. It was actually kind of whirlwind."

Gibbs takes hold of Kate's left hand and for a moment, looks at her rings.

"Tell me about it," he says, looking back up at her.

"Well, 2 ½ years ago, you hired me on as an agent for your team at NCIS. For two years, I was on your team and during that time, we fell in love. Then, this last September, we admitted it to each other and started dating. I transferred to a different team so we could be together. We dated for about six weeks before you proposed."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We saw no good reason to wait because we just knew it was right. You proposed to me on my birthday, which was at the end of October. Then five weeks later, on December 3rd, we got married and it was one of the happiest days of my life."

Gibbs grins at her and then, looks down at her left hand, that he's holding in his right hand, and strokes it with his left hand.

"I'm glad," he says, looking back up at her.

After a brief moment of silence, Kate looks downward, puts her right hand over her stomach.

"We're having a baby, too." She looks back up at him.

"Really?" He reaches with his left hand and touches Kate's stomach. "When?"

"The doctor speculates I'm due around October 15th."

"Do we know what we're having?"

"Not yet."

Gibbs grins as he rubs Kate's stomach.

"I just barely started showing."

"You look good."

"Thanks," she says, smiling.

Gibbs cups her face in his hands, pulls her face closer to his, and kisses her on the lips. After a few seconds, the kiss breaks, and both slightly pull back and look into each other's eyes for a moment. Gibbs, then, pulls her into a hug as she lays her head down on his chest and reciprocates his hug.


	8. Chapter 8

Later that night, Kate is awakened by a gentle shaking.

"Kate! Kate!," Ziva says in a whisper, but intensely.

"Wh-what…" Kate jerks awake and flutters her eyes open.

"It's me, Ziva. I need to talk to you."

Kate gets up and follows Ziva out into the hallway.

"What is it?," Kate asks, still half asleep.

"I need to talk to Gibbs. It's urgent. We figured out Pin-Pin Pula passed himself off as Galib. He is Abu Sayyaf and he's planning a terrorist attack on the Navy that'll be as devastating as 9/11."

"Okay?"

"We need Gibbs's help. He has to remember… Please let me try to help him."

"Well, you don't need my permission. If you think you can help him, go ahead. I'll wait out here."

"Thank you." Ziva darts back into Gibbs's room.

Kate folds her hands and looks upward as she prays silently.

After a couple of minutes, Kate is startled by raised voices. She peeks in and watches as the conversation between Ziva and Gibbs gets more intense.

"What are you talking about?!," Gibbs hollers.

Ziva takes his hand and smacks herself on the back of her head.

Kate's eyes widen and she puts her hand over her mouth.

After another minute or so, she observes Gibbs hug a crying Ziva and she herself begins to cry.

After another minute or so, Gibbs breaks the hug and starts looking around.

"Where's…"

"I'm right here," Kate says as she comes in the room, tears running down her cheeks.

Gibbs grabs her, embraces her tightly, and kisses the side of her head.

After a few more seconds, Kate breaks the hug and looks him in the eye. "You remember?"

Gibbs nods his head.

"Yeah… Yeah," He embraces her once more and then, breaks the hug. "We've got to get out of here." He heads toward the door.

"Uh, Honey. You're still in a hospital gown."

"Oh yeah…"

Kate starts going through her overnight bag. "Dad burn it! I forgot to put a change of clothes for you in here. I got them out, but I must have left them sitting on the bed."

"I'll go see if they have some scrubs I can borrow," he says and then, exits the room.

Kate hugs Ziva. "I don't know how we'll ever be able to thank you."

"I'm glad I could help."


	9. Chapter 9

Back at headquarters, in MTAC, Kate stands in the background and observes as Gibbs argues with Deputy Director Welsh.

"You b-!" Gibbs turns around, heads toward the door, and grabs Kate's hand as he walks past her. "We have to talk."

Kate follows along behind him to the conference room.

"Honey, I'm sorry," she says as they enter the room and he shuts the door behind them. "You tried."

Gibbs shakes his head. "I can't do this anymore, Kate."

"Do what?"

"This…," he says, gesturing with his hands. He walks toward the wall and then, back in Kate's direction. He stops in front of her and moves his hand across the back of his neck.

"I never understood how Mike could just up and quit like he did… Now, I do."

Kate starts getting nervous. "Wh-what are you saying?"

He takes her hands in his. "I'm saying I think it's time for me to retire from NCIS."

Kate's eyes widen. "Jethro…"

"I'm not saying things will be easy. But, I think it's time to move on."

"So, are you saying you want me to resign, too?"

"No, not necessarily. But, I do think we should consider other options. We could possibly start over somewhere, just you, me, and our baby. If we do decide to stay in the area, you could continue working here. Even if you don't, we could live comfortably on my retirement."

Kate's eyes tear up. "A-Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah… I'm sure."

Kate nods her head. "Okay."

He takes her in his arms and hugs her.

"Like I said, I know it won't be easy. And until we decide for sure what we're gonna do, I think we should see about putting a leave of absence in for you. I'm sure your doctor will agree to it, especially with all the distress you've been through these last few days."

"That would be nice," she says, breaking the hug.

"Maybe we could go down to Mexico and see Mike."

"Yeah."

"Are you okay with all of this?"

"Well, it's all kind of sudden, but I'll adjust. All I really care about is being with you. If it's right for you, then it's right for me and the baby."

"Okay." He hugs her again. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

He breaks the hug. "Let's go tell the Director."

"Okay."


	10. Chapter 10

The next day, Kate goes back to headquarters to turn in her leave of absence papers and to talk to Jenny.

"Director, Caitlin Gibbs is here to see you," Cynthia buzzes in.

"Send her in, Cynthia."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Jenny gets up from her chair as Kate comes through the door.

"Hey," Jenny says, walking up to her and hugging her.

"Hey," Kate says and then, breaks the hug.

"I'm taking it that your doctor agreed with you about taking a leave of absence?" she asks, going back to her desk.

"Yeah, she did," Kate says, going to sit down in front of Jenny's desk.

"Well, I held off on drawing up Jethro's retirement papers like you asked me to last night when you texted me."

"Thanks. I appreciate it. I… I'm just not 100% sure that this is what he really wants. He decided this is the heat of the moment and I'm thinking that after he has a chance to think about it for a while, he may feel differently. I don't know."

"Well, what about you? How are you, yourself, feeling about all this?"

"I'm not sure. I don't necessarily want him to retire, I… I don't know. I'm conflicted because part of me feels like he's making a mistake, but part of me wants him to really resign so I don't have to worry about him getting hurt again… or even killed."

"I think I understand. And to tell you the truth, I kind of got the same inkling as you last night when yall told me the decision. Then, when you texted me last night and asked me not to draw up his papers yet and you'd explain why when you came in, I had a feeling this is what you were gonna say."

"Like I said, I'm just not sure this is what he really wants."

"Well, this is what we can do. He's accumulated a monstrous load of paid leave time that he hasn't used yet and I can put in for that instead, but he doesn't have to know. He will just think he's getting a retirement check."

"Really? That would be great."

"Then, once you two figure out for sure what you're gonna do, you can let me know."

"Okay."

"Like I said, he doesn't have to know. In fact, no one needs to know about this or that we had this conversation. It would be better if we keep this just between you and me, especially since we're trying to keep this from him."

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

"Well, I'll put in for that paid leave time right away and get things going on this end."

Kate and Jenny stand up and Jenny comes out from behind her desk and escorts Kate to the door.

Kate turns around and hugs Jenny before taking her leave. "Thank you so much for everything."

"You're welcome," Jenny says, breaking the hug. "Keep in touch, okay?"

"I will."

Jenny opens the door and Kate takes her leave.

THE END

©2013 By Jeanniefan78/April*No part of this story may be performed or reproduced in any way, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the author.*All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Some characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated or affiliated with the owners, creators, cast, crew, or producers of NCIS or any media franchise. This is strictly for fan enjoyment only. No copyright infringement is intended.


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